Four weeks into GTI ownership

[Bungleaio]

Ok so today marks 4 weeks ownership of my car and there's no two ways about it, this car is absolutely amazing in every way. I've covered just over 1500 miles now and have spent a fair bit of time driving it and I wouldn't change a thing.

I have had a small issue with the silver trim on the steering wheel not being quite right and having a sharp edge. I showed it to the dealer and they agreed to swap it out for a new one. They did this but unfortunately fitted one for a manual car so there were no DSG paddles. Another return trip and it's all sorted.

I optioned this car to the hilt, the only thing missing is the 19 inch wheels and the pano roof. I didn't order these as I'm not much of a fan of either of them.

The options I have got I will give a bit of a review on:

Performance pack - Only just starting to feel the benefit of the diff, it certainly makes a difference and does a great job of killing understeer. Brakes are great, whether the extra power makes a difference I don't know.

DSG - I've had a couple of auto gearboxes but this is my first double clutcher. I've been slated by a couple of people for having an auto in a hot hatch but I love it. especially combining this with the active cruise it's really nice in traffic. It's great when pressing on and using the paddles too. I'm pretty sure all my daily's from this point on will be auto.

DCC - Can certainly feel the difference these make, I either run it in comfort or sport there's not much point in normal really. I'd say it's in comfort mode 90% of the time but now I've got the car run it a reasonable amount I'm sure sport will be utilised more.

Lane Assist - This is bundled with blind spot monitoring and dynamic headlights. The headline part the lane assist is ok but not something I would go mad to have again, it just feels like the car is tram lining when its doing it's think, can be switched off but I leave it on. Blind spot monitoring is a really nice thing to have, I spend a reasonable time on the motorway so it's good to have something keeping an extra eye out. Dynamic headlights. This is the main reason I went for this option and they are truly amazing. Everyone should have these they are that good. It's fantastic how they light the road up without dazzling the other road users. I will want all my future cars to have this ability.

Pro Nav - Part of the tech pack. Works really well, I've used the sat nav and voice control to set destinations on the fly. The bigger screen is nice to have too, it fills the dash and makes it look complete. I'm loving apple car play which works flawlessly too.

Dynaudio - Fantastic sound and another option I'm really pleased to have. When my steering wheel was being changed I had a GTE which had the standard small screen and base speakers, they were ok but I'm glad to have the upgrade.

Climate screen - To be honest I've not really had the benefit of this yet but I'm sure once the frosts start it will be invaluable, i hope so it was an expensive option for what it is. It's nice not having the small wires that most heated screens have in them though.

Advanced telephone connection - I was forced into this because of the heated screen but as I have an iPhone I can't make use of it properly due to apple's protocol. I am pleased to have the usb socket in the armrest though, I'm using this so that my cable mostly stays in there I can then put my phone on the cover over the cupholders. Overall a waste for iPhone users really.

Parking Pack- Went for this for two reasons, I wanted the camera and I hate having blank buttons in cars. The camera is really good but it would be nice to have a higher resolution image, it's pretty poor for this day and age. I thought the self park feature would be a bit of a novelty but I've ended up using it to parallel park a few times and it works really well. I've not used it for bay parking though because it places the car between the other cars not in-between the lines.

Leather interior - A controversial choice seeing as the tartan is so iconic but I really don't like it. The leather makes it a lot classier in my opinion. It's expensive for what it is, the quality isn't as good as BMW or Range Rover put in their cars but I'm happy with it.

Tinted Glass - Such a cheap option and looks great. I like how the wires in the rear window don't stand out like they do with aftermarket tints.

It took a while for me to make my mind up on what car to get and to get myself in a position to actually get it. One thing I didn't list in the options above is the 5 year factory warranty, I really wouldn't change a thing about this car and can't imagine what will replace it. So my aim is to keep the car at least until the warranty expires, I really don't think that will be a hardship

[Booth11]

Nice little review Bungleaio.  Very nice to see a good review from a GTI owner.  Great that you are enjoying the car so much. 

Totally agree about the Dynaudio - one of THE best options IMO.  The Pro Nav to,definitely finishes off the cabin nicely.  And great to hear there's another daily DSG convert.  It really gives the best of both worlds.

Hope the next 1500 miles are even better. 

[GeoBog]

Great write up. I am past first year of ownership now with mine and I love it to bits.

You mentioned 19" alloys and sunroof. As far as I remember you can't have both, it's either sunroof with 18" wheels or 19" wheels without sunroof. Something about car weight not being within designed limits with both options installed.

[fredgroves]

You've got all the high tech toys there!

The point you made about lane assist is an interesting one. I'm still gutted that I couldn't seem to understand what VW were trying to sell me with that. The 6 word description on the configurator didn't really tell me enough to make a choice. Had I know what I know now, that box would have been firmly ticked - as it is I just choose HBA, which you get as part of Lane Assist anyway.

Its very frustrating, especially as the dynamic headlights were one of the flagship technology pieces with the Mk7.

Oh well, only a few more months and I will have to order my next one. Thanks to this forum I've got a definite spec list already prepared

[Bungleaio]

You mentioned 19" alloys and sunroof. As far as I remember you can't have both, it's either sunroof with 18" wheels or 19" wheels without sunroof. Something about car weight not being within designed limits with both options installed.

You are correct it is one of the other. The sun roofs are nice and I can see why people like them but they aren't for me. I've had a couple of cars with them and I just end up with them closed. I much prefer the full convertible experience.

The santiagos dont do anything for me either. If I was going for an r I would have definitely gone for the cadiz wheels  but the Austin wheels really set the car off to me. I can always change when later if required 

[J400uk]

Yeah nice review, wish I'd got lane assist and park pack with mine!

[Forza300]

Nice write up Bungleaio.

My September supplied GTD has mostly the same options.

DSG ~ agree it's very smooth even compared to the slush boxes i've had previously. Use the paddles all the time, probably never use the stick in manual at all.

DCC ~ i struggle to feel the difference this makes. Run in 'comfort' mostly as that's what i want but not sure i could tell the difference if blindfolded.

Lane Assist ~ Your description of tram lining is spot on. Not sure this feature helps or hinders? The side scan can become irritating in traffic. Too many bleeps & warnings for me.

Pro Nav ~ agree, it's a great bit of kit.

Dynaudio ~ Never heard of them before but a great sound with plenty of power. Overall not as good a performance as the B&W system in my previous car but i think that might be because the Golf is a little noisier in the cabin than i'm used to.

Dynamic headlights ~ also the primary reason i chose this option. Fantastic!

Climate screen ~ is it working? can't see any wires! Had to check my receipt to make sure it had been specified.

Advanced telephone connection ~ agree 100%. If you're an Apple user this is a chocolate fireguard.

Parking Pack ~ agree, it's a novelty that might just be really useful. Already i use it more than i thought i would. Prefer mirrors to the screen when reversing ~ this could be an age thing?

Leather interior ~ Can't remember my last car that didn't have leather but thought the cost of this option was prohibitive, even bad value! The fabric interior looks smart and hopefully hard wearing. Perhaps if there was a choice of any other colour other than black i might have paid the premium. Cream with red piping pushes my buttons

Panoramic roof ~ because of the black interior i wanted a lot of light to make the cabin feel larger than it is.
The dark glass and flush fit of the roof looks great and the tilt function allows a good airflow. I think, for me, was worth the £950 or so it adds.

Tinted Glass ~ added this a week after placing my order. Didn't realise the dark tints were available until checking the specifications after the event. Dealership forgot to add them which wasn't discovered until i saw the car in it's protective shipping wrap. Am trying to convince myself that the lighter tints are just fine 

[Bungleaio]

Wow forza your GTD took ages! I was lucky mine was 3 months to the day from order to collection .

I'm surprised by your side scan going off in traffic a lot, mine doesn't make too much noise, it has gone off a few times but most of the time it's silent.

For the climate screen if you press the menu button on the centre dial on the ventilation there it puts a display on the screen which has an extra icon to switch the screen on when you want it. The screen is also supposed to reflect the heat in the summer too. My car is black so I doubt I will feel the benefit of that though.

Don't worry about the rear tints, they are rubbish really 

[robtt]

Mine delivered four weeks ago today and 1200 miles on I am still gaining more and more respect for the car. It's breadth of ability is much much better than I expected . I had two Mk2 Gti's and was lucky to own them from new for four and three years respectively . Then family commitments etc meant more "ordinary" company cars for quite a while . But these included BMW , Mercs and Audi and all six cylinder diesels so not boring by any means. But early retirement, and buying my own car ,for the first time for thirty years,  and I went straight back to the Gti. And I love it. Yesterday was returning from Whitby towards Pickering late afternoon. Some on here will know this road and it is a superb drivers road . It is a road built for the Gti .The car darts past slower cars, feels completely assured and gives great confidence . What more can you ask for ? Tech is fine but raw ability is what makes this car so good . We should start a thread on here about great driving roads in the UK because there are plenty to be had with local knowledge .

[Forza300]

Not an optional extra but a great driver aid ;

Adaptive cruise control - really very good, and much more usable than basic cruise control.